Improvement in machine toe gleaning and assoeting oeanbeeeies



- G. L. MERRILL.

MACHINE FOR CLEANING AND ASSORTING GRANBERRIES.

No. 67,130. Patented July 23, 1867.

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G. L. MERRILL, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS' Leffers Patent No. 67,130, dated July 23, 1867.

IMPROVEMENT IN MACHINE FOR CLEANING AND ASSORTING GRANBERRIES.

, "flit: ttc2m1e rrfmet it in ltengetters 33mm ant making met at the same.

TO ALL WHOM IT MAY, CONCERN:

Be it known that I, G. L. MERRILL, of Chicago, in the'county of Cook, and State of Illinois, have invented a new and useful Improvement on Machine for Assorting and Cleaning Cranberries; and I do hereby declare P that the following isa full, clear, and exact dcscription;of-the construction and operation of the same, reference being had to .the annexed drawings and letters ofreferencelmnrked thereon, making a part of this specification, in which--- 4 Figure 1 is a perspective representation of my machine,

The, nature of my invention relates to cleaning the. dirt from cranberries, and separating the soft and imperfect ones from those which are sound, by means of the momentum of the berries passing down an inclined plane'snd falling into separate apartments, made such a distance from the lower end of the inclined plane that the assorted berries will fall into their respective places. This I accomplish by means of an adjustable chutei heard placed on the top of the box, and so arranged that it can be set at such an angle as will cause the berries to pass over the board witlr'such momentum as the condition oftheberries may require, in order that the process of cleaning and separating may be properly done; and in providing what I term a movable finishingboard, which is adjusted in that part of the box in which, the sound berries fall, and has -on"its top a peculiar,- shaped movable stop, which is used to prevent the berries from falling off from the board when cleaning the last run of refuse berries among which but few are good. i b It is well known to those versed in cranberry culture that'a small quantity of soft or rotten berries soon materiallyinjures the balance of those in thebarrel; and as no suitable device has heretofore been used for separating imperfect berries, I claim that my machine is of important public utility, for .the' berries can be r nicely and speedily cleaned and separated, rendering the sound berries much more valuable than the entire lot before being run through the machine.

To enable others to make and use my machine, I will describe its construction and operation. A represents the snbstantialbox, which should be made water-tight at the bottom. The front side of this L, box is broken away in order to give a clear view of the partitions and other arrangements on the inside.- B shows the chute-board, having the sides M, upon which the berries are put when they are to be cleaned. The l sides M are. hung to the sides of the box A' by' means. of the pins'P, and the bottom B rests upon the crosspiece R, placed transversely across the tdpof the box- A,"and held in place by means of the pins S, passing down into the cdgesof the box. The cross-piece R can be moved nearer to the front of tlieemachine-if desired, and secured by putting the pin 8 into the'holet,- in which case the chute-board will have a less inclination, and as a. consequence the berries will pass more slowly into the box A. Any number of holes, it, may be made in I r the box A necessary to give therequircd angle to the board B. D is the first partition used in separating the berries, and is attached to'the reverse-inclined board G, upon which the worthless berries fall. represents 5 the-second partition, extending down to the bottom of the box Both good and poor berries fall between partitions D E and are received into the part E, fromwhich they can be removed by raising the front-end board J; as seen by the dotted lines :r, and recleaned. All of the berries which pass over the partition E, and into the part G I, will be found suitably cleaned. K represents the finishing-board, supported by the skirting *L and short standards placedv under each end. The dotted lines z show the position of the one on the front side. This board can be moved to or from the partition E, as most convenient for cleaning the refuse berries at the end of the board K at W. V shows a tongue or projection upon which the berries rest and prevent the stop from falling off from the board K during the process of cleaning.

last of the run; N is the movable stop which is used to "event the soft berries from passing over the lower Operation. The berries can be put in small quantities upon the board I3, and the. berries will be separated as above described. The parts N KL may be removed from the division G I, when running the berries through'the first time, and after the soundberries have been removed,.the boardK can be set in the box A for the cleaning of y the last run. The sliding stop N can be moved so as to give as much or little surface of e board K as desired, I or according to the amount of refuse berries to be cleaned.

Having thus fully described my device. what I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States, iB-

1. The arrangement and combination of the adjustable chute-board B M, partitions D E, and reverse board 0, substantially as and for the purpose set forth. i 2. The combination of the board K and movable stop N, when constructed as and for the purpose specified.

I G. L. MERRILL Witnesses i I Gso. S. Cuarm, A. Harman. 

